Apparatus and process for tacking fabrics

ABSTRACT

An apparatus and process for securing fibrous non-woven fabrics together by tacking them sufficiently such that they may be further processed without the need for further means to secure them together during such processing.

United States Patent 1191 Van Deusen et al.

[ Nov.5 1974 APPARATUS AND PROCESS FOR TACKING FABRICS [75] inventors: George S. Van Deusen, Charlotte,

NC; Richard K. Teed, Greenwood,

[73] Assignee: Riegel Textile Corporation, Ware Shoals, SC.

[22] Filed: Aug. 31, 1972 [21] Appl. No.: 285,253

[52] US. Cl 28/4 R [51] Int. Cl D04h 18/00 [58] Field of Search 28/4 R, 72.2 R

[56] 3 References Cited A UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,132,530 10/1938 Greiser 28/4 R 2,177,604 10/1939 Stone .128/4R FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS 1,913,128 10/1969 Germ-tiny .1 211/722 R Primary ExaminerLouis K. Rimrodt Attorney, Agenl, 0r Firm-Pcnnie & Edmonds [57] ABSTRACT An apparatus and process for securing fibrous nonwoven fabrics together by tacking them sufficiently such that they may be further processed without the need for further means to secure them together during such processing.

19 Claims, 9 Drawing Figures APPARATUS AND PROCESS FOR TACKING FABRICS BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention This invention relates to improvements in handling non-woven fibrous fabrics which previously presented difficulties where it was necessary to secure them together during handling such as is required when processing these fabrics on a felting machine. The invention pertains to a unique apparatus and process for securing said fabrics together thus obviating the need for further means to secure them.

2. Description of the Prior Art In handling fabrics such as non-woven fibrous materials problems have been presented in securing the fabrics together while passing them through an apparatus such as a felting machine. In felting base fabrics such as a non-woven carpet having smaller cutout design patterns thereon, it has been difficult to secure the patterns in position while not interfering with the operation of the machine. Clearly it can be seen that to secure such fabrics with external fastening means, would cause the fastening means to interfere with the operation of the internal mechanisms of the felting apparatus such as needles and the like. On the other hand, there is no known means for securing the upper pattern fabrics, which are generally smaller in size, to the base fabric while such handling is completed. There is thus a requirement for a device and process for accomplishing such fastening to prepare the fabrics for intra-factory handling.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The invention relates to an apparatus and process for securing at least two fibrics in juxtaposed face-to-face relation. The fabrics which are particularly contemplated are those of the non-woven type having randomly packed natural or synthetic fibers such as certain felt materials or carpets including but not limited to polypropylene acrylic fibers, polyester nylon, wool, cotton and the like. Actually, any materials in which fibers of one fabric may be made to penetrate the other fabric may be used with the present invention. An example of a use of the present invention is to secure to a base fibrous fabric, such as a carpet or rug, a series of pattern design configureations for further intrafactory handling such as processing in a felting machine.

In such processing the pattern fabrics are held in faceto-face relation with the base while the felting machine operates on the fabrics to cause their various fibers to become so intermingled as to give the appearance of a single fabric with a design pattern configuration corresponding to the design patterns impressed therein.

The apparatus comprises a main frame having a fabric input end and a fabric output end. Means is provided for carrying any number of fabrics in juxtaposed face-to-face relation from the input end to the output end. An apron having spaced wood slats operatively connected for driven movement with respect to the frame is preferred. For example, a fabric with a design guide pattern either dusted, printed or otherwise made on the upper surface guides the operator in distributing pattern fabrics cut to specific shapes thereon. Means for preliminarily tacking at least two of the fabrics is provided with at least one needle means adapted to penetrate at least two fabric layers. A means for finally tacking the preliminarily tacked fabrics is provided including at least one needle means adapted to additionally penetrate the preliminarily tacked fabrics. The penetrations of the needle means cause certain of the fibers of at least a first fabric to penetrate-at least a second fabric securing them together in juxtaposed faceto-face relation. The preliminary tacking partially secures the fabrics while the final tacking further secures them together.

The preliminary tacker is preferably positioned across the apron and adapted to move in intermittent steps from the rearward end to the forward end while penetrating the fabrics with a plurality of needle means one full cycle for each pause period in its path. When the preliminary tacker reaches a predetermined position it stops in its path and the apron carries the preliminarily tacked fabrics into the final tacker at the rearward end where additional needle means repeatedly penetrate the pre-tacked fabrics.

In the preferred embodiment the fabric penetrations of the'needle means of the final tacker are of greater frequency than those of the preliminary tacker. This results in a partial securing during pre-tacking with further securing during final tacking. However, it is also contemplated that the frequency of penetrations of the needles means during pre-tacking may be equal to the frequency during final tacking. Such an arrangement would merely divide the tacking operation equally between the pre-tacking and final tacking steps.

In the preferred embodiment a system of switching means activates certain subsystems while deactivating other subsystems thus resulting in a systematic series of continuous steps in tacking fabrics. For example, a base fabric is fed into the input end while an operator distributes pattern fabrics over the surface according to a specified guide pattemAt this time, the pre-tacker is moving in intermittent steps from the rearward end of the apron toward the forward end while tacking the fabrics on the apron one time corresponding to each pause of the pre-tacker in its intermittent movement. The phasing of the pre-tacking and the pretacker movement is facilitated through the arrangement of a system of electromechanical switching means which are operated by link arms and connections in the pretacker drive system. When the pre-tacker reaches a predetermined position it is deactivated and the apron as well as the final tacker are activated thereby carrying pre-tacked fabrics into the final tacker for needle punching at a substantial frequency. The inactivated pre-tacker is carried rearwardly by the apron during final tacking. When the pre-tacker reaches another predetermined position toward the rear of the apparatus it activates another series of electromechanical switching means which once again activate the pretacker drive means and pre-tacking mechanism to begin the cycle once again. While the pre-tacker is pretacking the fabrics previously distributed on the apron, the operator is distributing new fabrics at the input end.

After final tacking the fabrics are wound up on a takeup roll operated by a system which is powered by the apron drive and final tacker drive system. When the finally tacked rolls are completed in predetermined sizes they are processed for example in a felting ma,- chine which further merges the materials to give the ap pearance of the fabric having a design pattern thereon.

The process of the present invention comprises feeding at least two fabrics in face-to-face relation into a pre-tacking zone and preliminarily pre-tacking at least two layers by penetrating them with at least one needle means in said pretacking zone to cause certain of the fibers of at least one fabric layer to penetrate at least a second fabric layer and intermingling said fibers with certain of the fibers of the second fabric layer. Then the pre-tacked fabrics are passed into a final tacking zone having a series of needle means extending therein. In this zone at least two of the fabric layers are repeatedly penetrated by imparting reciprocal motion to the needle means thus resulting in intermingling of certain of the fabric fibers to secure them together for the purpose of further processing. In the preferred form the method utilizes barbed needles and sectioned needle bars with spring biased stripper plates securing the fabrics against the respective fabric support.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS A preferred embodiment of the invention is described hereinbelow with reference to the drawings wherein:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the apparatus of the present invention showing the input section, the pretacker, the final tacker and the take-up section;

FIG. 2 is a side view of the apparatus of FIG. 1;

FIG. 2a is a side view of a portion of the final tacker drive means;

FIGS. 3a and 3b are views taken along lines 3a,b 3a,b in FIG. 2, with portions of the pre-tacker of FIG. 3a removed;

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of the pre-tacker along lines 4-4 of FIG. 2;

FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view of the pre-tacker (shown in Section B of FIG. 1) taken along lines 55 in FIG. 30;

FIG. 6 is a front view of the final tacker shown in Section C of FIG. 1; and

FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view of the final tacker taken along the line 77 of FIG. 6.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS I. General For the purpose of the description the terms forward" and forward end refer to the input end of the apparatus, while the terms rearward" and rearward end" refer to the output end of the apparatus of the present invention.

Referring to the drawings there is shown in FIG. 1 an apparatus 10 constructed according to the principles of the present invention. The apparatus is symmetrical about a vertical plane passing through its center and extending longitudinally from the input or forward end to the output or rearward end.

The apparatus has four main sections, each of which represents a separate and distinct operational step in practicing the method of the present invention. There is shown in FIG. 1 an Input Section A. a Pre-Tacking Section B, a Final Tacking Section C, and a Take-Up Section D. The apparatus includes a frame 11; and apron 12 adapted to be driven rearwardly with respect to the frame; a pre-tacker l4 operatively movable with respect to the apron l2 and the frame 11 and which preliminarily tacks the fabrics to a limited extent sufficient to secure them together in preparation for final tacking; a final tacker 16 which tacks the fabrics at a substantially higher frequency than the pre-tacker 14 to prepare them for further intra-factory handling such as felting on a felting machine (not shown); and a takeup roll 22 around which the finally tacked fabrics are wound.

Referring to FIG. 1, a base fabric 18 is fed into the input Section A of the apparatus with the desired pattern layout traced or otherwise indicated on its upper surface. The pattern layout guides the operator in distributing pre-cut pattern fabrics over the surface of the base fabric. The base fabric 18 and pattern fabrics 20 are generally non-woven fibrous materials having numerous closely packed filaments including, but not limited to, polypropylene acrylic fibrous carpet, polyester nylon, wool, cotton and the like. The pattern layout may be provided by such methods as template dusting, chalking, printing, etc.

While the operator distributes pattern fabrics 20 on the base fabric 18 and the input operation proceeds, the pretacker 14 moves in intermittent steps from a position immediately forward of the final tacker 16 to approximately the position shown in FIG. 1. During this intermittent forward movement a plurality of known barbed needles on the pre-tacker penetrate the pattern fabrics and base fabric one time corresponding to each space between the wood slats 30 which make-up the apron 12. During each penetration of the fabrics the pre-tacker pauses in its forward movement along the apparatus frame and the pre-tacker nnedles complete a downward and upward cycle prior to the resumption of forward movement by the pre-tacker. The pretacker needles are positioned in four rows extending laterally across the apparatus and longitudinally spaced from each other by a distance corresponding to the distance between each successive apron slat. Thus, one pre-tacking cycle is accomplished by the pre-tacking along four lateral rows each time it pauses during its intermittent movement from the rearward end of the apparatus toward the input section.

When the pre-tacker reaches a predetermined position its movement is deactivated and the apron 12 is activated to proceed rearwardly, feeding the pre-tacked fabrics into the final tacker 16. The final tacker has two rows of needles extending laterally across the apparatus for finally tacking the fabrics at a selected number of cycles per minute while the apron travels rearwardly at a speed of approximately correspondingly selected speed. The selected cycles per unit of time for the final tacker as well as the corresponding linear speed of the apron are determined by the factors which are related to the variable parameters for each case.

2. Apron Drive Referring to FIG. 1 the apparatus comprises the frame 11 which includes longitudinal channel members 24 connected by lateral channel members 26 longitudinally spaced from each other. The frame is supported on vertical support legs 28. In FIG. 2 there is shown horizontal laterally extending shafts 32 and 34 at the forward and rearward end respectively of the apron section of the apparatus. Mounted on each side of shaft 34 are sprocket wheels (forward 38, rear not shown) which are drivingly engaged with a link chain 36 attached to the underside of apron 12. The rearward shaft 34 is driven by a power train to be described,

while the forward shaft 32 with its corresponding undriven sprocket wheels 38 are engaged with chains 12 to function as idler sprocket wheels.

Referring now to FIGS. 2 and 2a there is shown a variable speed electric motor 40 which rotatably drives pulley wheel 42 by pulley belt 44 to rotate shaft 46. The speed of the motor is selected by a variable switch (not shown) and is determined by the tacking requirements in each case. For example, certain patterns may require higher speeds and others may require lower tacking speeds.

Shaft 46 is keyed into an eccentric drive 48 by key 51 as shown in FIG. 2a. Eccentric drive 48 is adapted to drive oscillating arm 50 causing it to oscillate fore and aft in a substantially horizontal plane. The arm 50 is connected by adapter 52 and key 56 to shaft 54 in a manner which converts the oscillating fore and aft motion of the arm into oscillating rotary motion of the shaft 54. This conversion of motion is due to the offcenter position of arm 50 with respect to shaft 54. Screws 58 are used to adjust the phase angle of the oscillating rotary motion transmitted to shaft 54.

The oscillating rotary motion is then transmitted to intermittent unidirectional rotary motion by overriding clutch 60 shown in FIG. 2a. The intermittent unidirectional rotary motion is transmitted to lower sprockets 62 which drive upper sprockets 64 by link chains 66. Sprockets 64 rotate upper shaft 68 which is the input drive of a gear reducer 70 having a reduction ratio of 30.921. The output shaft 34 of gear reducer 70 drives asprocket (not shown) which is drivingly engaged with the link chain 36 of the apron 12. Thus, when the apron drive means is activated the upper portion of the apron 12 moves rearwardly of the apparatus and the lower portionof the apron moves forwardly as shown by arrows E and F, respectively.

3. Fabric Feed In FIGS. 1 and 2 there is shown alternate means for feeding fabrics to the apparatus. The preferred means includes horizontal members 72 attached to the sup port legs 28 in horizontal fore and aft positions. Shaft 74 extends laterally across the apparatus and is rotat ably supported by the members 72 as shown. A roll of base fabric 18 is supported on the shaft 74 and extends upwardly to dispense base fabric 18 into the input end of apron 12.

4. Optional Fabric Feed An optional fabric feed means is shown which may be used in conjunction with the fabric feed means described or may optionally be used alone. A friction roller 76 is rotatable on shaft 78 which is supported on support arms 88. The support arms 88 are pivotally mounted on vertical members 90 connected to apparatus frame members 24. The friction roller 76 normally rests on the apron 12 holding the fabrics in position in the input section as they are placed on the apron 12. Wheels 80 are connected to shaft 82 having eccentric earns 84 which rotate when wheels 80 are manually rotated. The eccentric earns 84 engage a vertical cam follower 86 which lift the friction roll support arms 88 thereby lifting the friction roller 76 upwardly away from the apron 12. The optional feed roll 76 can be used with fabrics which are cut to shorter lengths as opposed to those fed into the apparatus in roll form as shown in FIG. 1. The nip between the roller 76 and the apron 12 is sufficient to maintain the input speed of the fabrics as well as to temporarily secure their relative positions prior to the pre-tacking operation.

5. The Pre-Tacker a. PreTacker Movement Referring to FIGS. 1, 3a and 312 there is shown a pretacker 14 mounted on rollers 90 adapted for movement in a fore and aft direction along the upper horizontal surface of right angle members 94 mounted to longitudinal frame members 24. The pre-tacker 14 is laterally positioned between right angle members 94 by lateral locater rollers 92 each of which is horizontally mounted to rotate about a vertical axis and to engage and roll along the vertical side surfaces 96 of right angle members 94.

Referring to FIGS. 1, 3a, 3b and 5, the pre-tacker I4 is comprised of a frame 97 having oppositely positioned channel members 98 assembled with vertical side members 100 at each end. The vertical side members 100 have a substantially trapezoidal configuration as shown in FIG. 2. Angle members 102 are connected to side members 100 and are rotatably supporting the rollers 90 and 92 previously described. Electric Drive Motor 104 is mounted to the upper portion of the frame 97 on bracket 106. Horizontal drive shafts 108 is rotatably driven by motor 104 through a V belt and pulley means 107 and is drivingly connected to right angle gear reducers 110. The right angle gear reducers 110 rotabably drive shafts 112 which extend downwardly through pillow blocks 111 to drive a modified Geneva pretacker drive system including indexing wheels 114.

Referring to FIG. 4 each shaft 112 is connected to modified Geneva indexing wheel 114 having a cam follower 116 at one end and an arcuately configured portion 118 of large diameter then the cam follower 116 at the opposite end. A downwardly stepped arcuate portion 120 having a lesser diameter than the portion 118 and concentric therewith, is also located at the larger end. On each end of every four apron slats 30, which are fabricated of dressed ash, are mounted metal tracks 122 which are configured to slidably accept the cam followers 116 of the indexing wheels 114 of the pre-tacker 14. Thus when shafts 112 are rotated in the direction shown in FIGS. 3a and 3b, the cam followers 116 slide outwardly of the track 122 as the pretacker proceeds toward the rearward end of the apparatus. When the cam followers 116 slide out of tracks 122 the stepped arcuate portions 120 become engaged between two adjacent tracks I22 and the pre-tacker motion ceases until the cam follower 116 rotates approximately 180 and slidably enters the next adjacent track 122 along its path. When this occurs the pre-tacker resumes its forward motion toward the input section of the apparatus as shafts 112 continue to rotate.

b. Pre-Tacking Referring now to FIGS. 3a, 3b and 5 there is shown air cylinders 124 having piston rods 126 connected to clevis 128 which in turn are connected to links 130. Links 130 are mounted on a horizontal shaft 132 extending through the frame members 98 of the pretacker. Linear motion of the piston rods 126 is converted to rotary motion of shaft 132 through the rotational motion of links 130 about axis 131-131 in FIG. 5. The rotary motion of shaft 132 is transmitted to bell crank 133 as shown in the drawings. Bell crank 133 is in turn connected by link 131 so as to transmit rotational motion to bell crank 133b, 133C and 133d. The cylinder ends of the air cylinders 124 are connected to the frame channel members 98 by brackets 129 shown in FIG. 3b. Links 131, which are connected to bell cranks 133b, 133C and 133d are in turn connected by vertical links 134 to angle members 136 shown in FIG. 5. The angle members 136 are spaced apart and oppositely positioned with their horizontal sections 137 connected to horizontal channel member 138. The needle bar 140 is comprised of separate sections 140a, 140b, 140e, 140d and l40e mounted to the underside of channel member 138 and held securely in position by retaining plates 141. Four spaced rows of vertical barbed needles extend downwardly form each needle bar section 140. Corresponding rows of needles are in line with each other such that they form substantially straight rows of needles extending laterally across the apron and spaced apart to correspond with the spaces between the apron slats 30. Needle stripper plate 144 is comprised of separate sections 144a, 144b, 1440, 144d and 1442, each corresponding to a needle bar section 140. Each section of the stripper plate 144 is suspended on vertical rods 146 slidably retained in brackets 148 and biased away from the respective needle bar section 140 by springs 150. The provision of the needle bar 140 and stripper plate 144 in separate sections facilitates adjustments, maintainance etc., of of each section independently of the remaining sections.

The needle stripper sections 144 are suspended by bolts 151 on the vertical rods 146. The stripper sections are biased downwardly away from the needle bar 140 by springs 150.

When the pre-tacker proceeds in a forward direction across the apron of the apparatus by the action of the previously described modified Geneva Drive System, a first system of known electromechanical switching means are activated to appropriately activate air cylinders 124 to cause links 131 to rotate bell cranks 133 thereby displacing vertical links 134 downwardly to actuate the pre-tacker needle bar 140, needle strippers 144 and needles 142 through a full pre-tacking cycle. Activation of the air cylinders 124 is phased such that whenever cam follower 116 of the modified Geneva Drive indexing wheel 114 exits a metal track 122 causing the pre-tacker to stop in its path, the air cylinders 124 are activated to cause needle bar 140 to begin its downward pre-tacking motion. After proceeding downwardly as far as possible the air cylinders return by reverse action to the start" position thereby causing needle bars 140 to proceed upwardly to their original position above the apron 12.

The rows of pre-tacker needles 142, which are spaced to correspond with the spaces between apron slats 30, thus penetrate the fabrics 18 and and return to their initial position during the pre-tacker pause period which occurs when cam follower 116 exits one track 122 and rotates 180 toward the next adjacent track 122. As the cam follower 116 enters the next adjacent track 122, shaft 112 continues to rotate and pretacker l4 proceeds onward in its forward direction over the top of apron 12. This intermittent operation which comprises intermittent linear movement and pre-tacking in an alternating manner, continues until the pre-tacker 14 reaches a predetermined location along the apparatus frame. At this time a second system of known electromechanical switching means are activated. Pre-tacker motion is then deactivated while apron 12 is simultaneously activated to move at a selected speed rearwardly of the apparatus through the activation of variable speed motor 40. As the apron 12 moves rearwardly it carries with its indexing wheels 114 as well as deactivated pre-tacker 14 while simultaneously feeding the pre-tacked fabrics 18 and 20 into the final tacker 16 for the final tacking operation.

6. The Final Tacker a. Description of the Final Tacker Referring now to FIGS. 2, 6 and 7 the final tacker will be described. Shaft 46 shown in FIG. 2, which is operatively connected to the apron drive system previously described, is also operatively connected to the final tacker drive system. Rotating shaft 46 is keyed into cccentric drives 152 which in turn are operatively assembled with oscillating drive arms 154. The ecccntric rotation of eccentric drive 152 causes arms 154 to oscillate vertically with upward and downward cyclical mo tion when shaft 46 rotates. Arms 154 are connected by links 156 to shafts 158 which are connected by brackets 160 to the final tacker frame 162 clearly shown in FIG. 6. Shafts 158 are supported laterally and guided for vertical reciprocal motion by cylindrical guide brackets 159 which are affixed to longitudinal channel members 24. The final tacker frame 162 shown in FIG. 7 includes spaced apart side plates 164 and 166, retaining members 168 on the upper portion, and a retaining member 170, which is secured in position as shown in FIG. 7 by threaded rods 174 which pass through apertures (not shown) in members 168 and are threadedly engaged with retaining member 170. Knobs 172 are used to rotate threaded rods 174.

A fabric support is comprised of two oppositely positioned laterally disposed angle members 178 which are spaced apart and connected to the main frame support legs 28 by brackets 176. The fabric support also includes a plate 177 supported by the main frame by brackets 176, between the angle members 178. The plate 177 divides the space between the angle members 178 into two spaces in which the rows of barbed needles 182 of the final tacker are positioned for vertical reciprocal motion.

Connected to the underside of final tacker retaining member are sections 180a, 180b, 1800, 180d and 180e (d and e not shown) which comprise the final tacker needle bar 180. Each section of the needle bar 180 has affixed to the underside two lateral rows of ve rtical barbed needles 182 extending downwardly therefrom. A final tacker stripper plate 184 is also comprised of sections 184a, 184b, 1840, 184d and 1842 (d and e not shown) each corresponding to a needle bar section 180 and connected to the final tacker frame 162 by four rods 186 which are supported by brackets 187 and biased downwardly away from the needle bar by springs 190. The stripper plate sections 184 include apertures 192 through which needles 182 are positioned for vertical upward and downward motion during final tacking as will be described. The needles may include only barbs which are directed downwardly as shown, or multidirectional barbs which face upwardly and downwardly. The downwardly facing barbs cause the fibers of the upper pattern fibers to penetrate the base fabric and intermingle with fibers of the base fabric. On the other hand, the multidirectional barbs cause fibers of both the pattern as well as the base to intermingle with fibers of each other. This is a matter of choice depending upon the circumstances in each case. However, in most instances only the downwardly facing barbs as shown are required.

b. Final Tacking As the pre-tacked fabrics 18 and 20 are carried rearwardly by apron 12 they are fed into the final tacker 16 between stripper plate 184 and the fabric supports 177 and 178. As the shaft 46 rotates by means previously described, shafts 158 oscillate vertically causing the final tacker to impart reciprocal motion through frame members 164 and 166 to needle bar 180 and to needles 182 in an upward and downward direction. The frequency of the reciprocal motion of the needles depends upon the parameters in each case, however, an average selected frequency in many instances has been about 100 cycles per minute. The needles 182 peentrate the base fabric 18 and the pattern fabrics 20 causing certain of the fibers of the pattern fabrics 20 b penetrate the base fabric 18 and securing them sufficiently for further intra-factory handling. As noted, if multidirectional barbed needles are used, certain fibers of the base also penetrate the pattern fabrics. For the most part the stripper plate 184 follows the needle bar 180 in the vertical reciprocal motion; however, it can be seen that at a predetermined position in the downward path of the needle bar the stripper plate 184 engages the fabric supports 177 and 178 and from that point until the needle bar reaches its lowest position, the springs 190 are compressed and the fabrics are secured inposition against the fabric supports 177 and 178 by the spring biased stripper plate 184. This takes place when the needles 182 are penetrating the fabrics 18 and on the downward portion of their reciprocal motion. When the needle bar 184 completes its downward movement and proceeds upwardly, the stripper plate remains in its biased position against the fabric support until the needle barv reaches a predetermined position at which time the stripper plate 184 is lifted from the fabric support and follows the needle bar 180 upwardly. The final tacking motion continues while the apron 12 moves rearwardly of the machine and feeds the fabrics l8 and 20 into the final tacker while also carrying the pre-tacker l4 rearwardly as previously described. While the linear speed is variable and determined by the selected frequency of the final tacker, an average apron speed corresponding to a final tacker frequency of 100 cycles per minute is about 2 feet per minute.

When the pre-tacker reachesa predetermined location relative to the frame somewhat forward of the final tacker, the pre-tacker motion activates a third system of known electromechanism switching means (not shown) which may be mounted on the main frame, and the final tacker motion as well as the apron motion is deactivated while the pre-tacker motion is once again activated and proceeds as previously described. Thus, the pretacking and final tacking cycle is repeated.

The Take-Up Section After finally tacking the fabrics it is necessary to complete the operation by winding them on a take-up roll 22 located in the take-up Section D as previously noted. Shaft 34, which rotates in intermittent unidirectional steps as previously described, operatively drives the take-up mechanism as well as the apron drive system previously described. Sprocket 192 on shaft 34 rotates sprocket 196 on shaft 198 through link chain 194 at the same intermittent unidirectional rearward speed as that of the apron drive. A driving take-up roll 200, also on shaft 198 is rotated and nipped against fabric driven" take-up roll 22 on shaft 206 in a direction required to wind up the tacked fabrics. The nip between the driving take-up roll 200 and the driven fabric takeup roll 22 is maintained by substantially constant downward pressure supplied by air cylinders 202 through piston rods 204 connected to shaft 206 by adapters 207 and 208 which are engageably connected with each other. Cylinders 202 are vertically positioned on the main frame by brackets 209 supported by support braces 210.

When the finally tacked fabrics are wound into rolls having a predetermined size they are removed for fur ther intrafactory handling such as. for example, processing through a felting machine.

We claim:

l. A tacking apparatus for preliminarily securing at least a first fabric portion to a base fabric in juxtaposed face to face relation in preparation for a final needling operation in which the fabrics are relatively finally secured together which comprises:

a. a frame;

b. a fabric input end for feeding fabrics in juxtaposed face-to-face relation in pre-selected relative positions with respect to each other;

e. a fabric output end;

d. conveyor means for carrying the fabrics from said input end to said output end while in said preselected relative positions;

e. means for preliminarily tacking at least a first fabric to said base fabric with needle means adapted to penetrate the fabric layers and cause certain of the fibers of at least a first fabric to penetrate at least a second fabric and intermingle with fibers thereof to secure the fabrics in face-to-face relation sufficiently to maintain their relative positions in preparation for further tacking;

f. means for activating said fabric conveyor means to convey said preliminarily tacked fabrics toward the output end of the apparatus for said further tacking; and

g. means positioned at the output end for further tacking said preliminarily tacked fabrics including needle means adapted to additionally penetrate said preliminarily tacked fabrics, said needle means being configured to cause certain of the fibers of at least a first fabric to penetrate a second fabric and intermingle with fibers thereof, said preliminary tacking thereby partially securing said fabrics together while in said pre-selected relative positions, and said further tacking additionally securing said fabrics in said relative positions for final needling whereby said fabrics are relatively permanently secured together.

2. The apparatus according to claim 1 further comprising a take-up section including a take-up roll for winding the'finally tacked fabrics therearound into rolls of predetermined sizes.

3. The apparatus according to claim 2 wherein said means for preliminarily tacking said fabrics includes at least one needle bar having a plurality of needle means extending within a tacking zone of the preliminary tacker.

4. The apparatus according to claim 3 wherein said means for finally tacking said fabrics includes at least one needle bar having a plurality of needle means extending within a final tacking zone of the final tacker.

5. The apparatus according to claim 4 wherein the number of penetrations of said final tacker needle means is greater in number than the penetrations of said pre-tacker needle means.

6. The apparatus according to claim 5 wherein said needle means in said pre-tacker and said needle means in said final tacker comprise barbed needles having barbs which face in at least one direction.

7. The apparatus according to claim 6 wherein said barbed needles have thereon barbs facing in more than one direction.

8. The apparatus according to claim 6 wherein said means for carrying said fabric layers from the input end toward the output end of said apparatus comprises an endless apron including wood slats laterally positioned across said frame with means for connecting said slats in spaced apart relation, said apron being adapted for movement relative to said frame and further having drive means operatively connected to drive said apron rearwardly toward the output end of said apparatus over the upper portion of said frame such that the fabric layers may be positioned thereon while in face-toface relation for preliminary tacking, and carried rearwardly toward the output end of said apparatus for feeding said pre-tacked fabrics into a final tacker for final tacking.

9. The apparatus according to claim 8 further comprising: a preliminary-tacking device having a needle bar supporting at least one row of barbed tacking needles; a stripper plate supported below, and connected to said needle bar and biased downwardly away therefrom by resilient means; a modified Geneva Drive System operatively connecting a motor to said preliminary-tacking device adapting it to move forwardly toward the input end of said apron by intermittent steps, with said needle bar operatively connected by linkages to air cylinder means to move said needle bar upwardly and downwardly at least once corresponding to each pause period of said preliminary-tacker, said needle bar movement causing said tacking needles to penetrate at least two layers of fabrics a full cycle corresponding to each pause period of said pre-tacking device during its intermittent forward motion, and said resiliently biased stripper plate securing said fabrics against said apron by compressive resilient action while following said needle bar for at least a portion of its upward and downward cycle.

10. The apparatus according to claim 9 wherein said pre-tacking device includes a needle bar having four rows of laterally positioned vertical barbed needles, said rows being spaced apart to correspond to spaces between said apron slats such that when said pretacking needles move downwardly and upwardly during pre-tacking said needles are positioned between said apron slats.

11. The apparatus according to claim 10 further comprising a final tacking device including:

a. a fabric support means;

b. a tacking zone;

c. a needle bar extended within said tacking zone with at least one row of tacking needles laterally positioned across said needle bar, said needle bar being operatively driven by at least a portion of said apron drive means so as to reciprocate vertically, thereby imparting reciprocal motion to said needles causing them to repeatedly penetrate at least two of said pre-tackcd fabric layers as they are carried through the final tacking zone by said apron, said repeated penetrations of said needles causing certain of the fibers of at least one fabric layer to penetrate a second fabric layer such that the fabrics are secured in face-to-face relation with each other.

12. The apparatus according to claim 11 wherein said needle bar of said preliminary-tacking device is comprised of several sections affixed in end to end spaced adjacent relation to the preliminary-tacker frame thereby facilitating simplified maintenance of said needle bar and said needles by permitting removal of sections requiring repairs and the like without affecting remaining sections.

13. The apparatus according to claim 12 wherein said final tacker needle bar is comprised of several sections affixed in end to end spaced adjacent relation to the frame of said final tacker thereby facilitating simplified maintenance of said needle bar and said needles by permitting removal of sections requiring repairs and the like without affecting remaining sections.

14. An apparatus for preliminarily securing a first fbrous fabric portion to a base fibrous fabric in juxtaposed face-to-face relation in preparation for a final needling in which the fabrics are relatively finally secured together which comprises:

a. a frame;

b. a fabric input end for feeding fabrics in juxtaposed face-to-face relation in pre-selected relative positions with respect to each other;

e. a fabric output end;

d. an endless apron for carrying layers of said fabrics from the input end of the apparatus toward the output end while in said pre-selected relative positions, said apron including a series of wood slats positioned laterally across said frame and connected in spaced apart relation by at least one link chain to form an endless loop, said apron having means including rollers for moving it from one end to the other along said frame, said apron further being driven by a drive means including:

l. a variable speed motor;

2. a pulley wheel connected to the shaft of said motor and adapted to rotate a second shaft by a belt and pulley wheel connection;

3. an eccentric drive connected to said second shaft for actuating an oscillating arm;

4. means to convert the oscillations of said oscillating arm into rotational oscillations of a rotatably mounted shaft;

5. means including an overriding clutch means for converting rotational oscillations of said shaft into intermittent uni-directional rotations; and

6. a sprocket wheel connected to said intermittently rotating shaft, said sprocket being drivingly engaged with said link chain of said apron for moving said apron rearwardly toward the output end of said apparatus in intermittend unidirectional motion;

e. a pro-tacking device including:

1. a frame;

2. a needle bar connected to said frame positioned above said apron slats and connected for upward and downward movement with respect to said frame;

3. at least one row of needles connected to said needle bar and extending within a pro-tacking zone, said rows being spaced to correspond to said spaces between said apron slats;

4. a needle stripper below said needle bar and connected thereto and having apertures through which said needles are positioned, said stripper plate being connected to and resiliently biased downwardly away from said needle bar; and

5. a preliminary-tacker drive motor operatively connected to move said preliminary-tacker along said frame by a modified Geneva Drive System including rotating indexing wheels which rotate through said system and include cam followers which intermittently enter and exit correspondingly configured. track means mounted on said apron slats thereby causing said preliminary.- tacker to move with intermittent motion rearwardly toward the output end of said apron when said modified Geneva Drive System is operated by said motor while said needles intermittently penetrate the fabric layers and cause certain of the fibers of a first fabric to penetrate at least a second fabric and intermingle with fibers thereof;

f. a final tacking device at the output end of said apron for relatively finally tacking said pre-tacked fabrics including:

l. a frame;

2. a needle bar connected to said frame and having at least one row of spaced apart needles extending through a tacking zone;

3. a fabric support means;

4. a stripper plate connected to said needle bar and positioned therebelow. said stripper plate being resiliently biased away from said needle bar; and

5. means to operatively connect said apron drive system to said final tacker including: an eccentric drive means connected to said apron drive variable speed motor; a link arm connected to said eccentric drive in a manner which causes it to oscillate in a vertical direction; connecting means for transmitting said oscillating vertical motion from said link arm to said final tacker frame thereby causing said needle bar to oscillate and said barbed needles to repeatedly penetrate at least two layers of said pre-tacked fabrics at a frequency which is predetermined by the selected speed of said motor as they are fed into said final tacker by the apron, said needles causing fibers of at least a first fabric layer to penetrate and intermingle with fibers of a second fabric layer;

g. switching means operatively connected to activate said final tacker and said apron drive system while deactivating said preliminary-tacker drive system when the preliminary-tacker reaches a predetermined position at the forward end of the pretacking section of said apparatus such that said preliminary-tacker is carried rearwardly of said apparatus by said apron while feeding pre-tacked fabrics into the tacking zone of said final tacker;

h. switching means operatively connected for deactivating said apron drive system and said final tacker while activating said pre-tacker Geneva Drive System when said pre-tacker reaches a rearward predetermined position relative to said apparatus frame, said switching means activating said modified Geneva Drive System to drive said pre-tacker in a forward direction to the input end of said apron in intermittent steps while pausing between successive advances;

switching means operatively connected to said preliminary-tacker drive means to activate air cylinders to actuate said linkages connected thereto cause said needle bar to move intermittently downwardly and upwardly toward and away from said apron thereby resulting in penetration by said needles through at least two layers of said fabrics while on said apron in the preliminary-tacking zone, each complete cycle of said needle movement being operatively phased to correspond to each pause period of said pre-tacker while moving forwardly over said apron; and j. a take-up means for winding said finally tacked fabrics on a roll into rolls of predetermined sizes.

15. The apparatus according to claim 14 wherein said needle bar of said preliminary-tacker includes four rows of needles laterally positioned over said apron.

16. The apparatus according to claim 15 wherein said needle bar includes two rows of needles laterally positioned across said final tacking section of said apparams.

17. The apparatus according to claim 16 wherein said fabric take-up means comprises:

a. a driven take-up roll for winding said tacked fabrics therearound;

b. a driving take-up roll nipped against said driven take-up roll;

c. a shaft on which said driving take-up roll is mounted, said shaft being driven by at least one sprocket wheel drivingly connected by a link chain to a sprocket wheel on the apron drive shaft;

d. an air cylinder connected to the apparatus frame having a piston connected to a piston rod which is biased by a substantially constant pressure source in said cylinder to apply a force against the shaft of said driven take-up roll in a manner which maintains a substantially constant nip between said driven take-up roll and said driving take-up roll; and

e. an idler means adapted to maintain a predetermined tension in said take-up roll driving link chain, said takeup means thereby winding said fabrics at a rate substantially equal to the rate of output of said final tacker due to the common driving connection between the take-up drive means and said apron drive means.

18. The apparatus according to claim 17 further comprising a movable feed roll rotatably mounted on said frame and positioned against said movable apron at the input end thereof and creating a nip with said movable apron when moving, said nip facilitating feeding of the fabrics onto said input end of said apron into the preliminary-tacking sectin of said apparatus.

19. A tacking apparatus for preliminarily securing at least a first fabric portion to a base fabric in juxtaposed face-to-face relation in preparation for a final needling operation in which the'fabrics are relatively finally secured together, which comprises:

a. a frame;

b. a fabric input end for feeding fabrics in juxtaposed face-to-face relation in pre-selected relative positions with respect to each other;

c. a fabric output end;

d. conveyor means for carrying the fabrics from said input end to said output end while in said preselected relative positions;

e. means movably mounted with respect to said frame for movement between said output end and said input end for preliminarily tacking at least one fabric layer to said base fabric with needle means adapted to intermittently penetrate the fabric layers and cause certain of the fibers of a first fabric layer to penetrate a second fabric layer and intermingle with fibers thereof to secure the fabrics in face-to-face relation sufficiently to maintain their relative positions in preparation for further tackmg;

f. means for moving said preliminary tacking means from the output end to the input end while said fabric conveyor means is stationary and said preliminary tacking means preliminarily tacks at least two layers of fabrics together in face-to-face relation;

g. means for deactivating said preliminary tacking means when it arrives at a predetermined position near the input end of the apparatus after preliminarily tacking the fabrics;

h. means for activating said fabric conveyor means to convey said preliminarily tacked fabrics toward the output end of the apparatus for further tacking thereof; and

. a final tacking means stationarily positioned with respect to said frame at the output end portion for further tacking said preliminarily tacked fabrics including needle means adapted to additionally penetrate said preliminarily tacked fabrics, said needle means being configured to cause at least certain of the fibers of a first fabric layer to penetrate a second fabric layer and intermingle with the fibers thereof, said movable preliminary tacking means thereby partially securing said fabrics together according to said pre-selected relative positions, and said final tacking means additionally securing said fabrics for final needling whereby said fabrics are relatively permanently secured together. 

1. A tacking apparatus for preliminarily securing at least a first fabric portion to a base fabric in juxtaposed face to face relation in preparation for a final needling operation in which the fabrics are relatively finally secured together which comprises: a. a frame; b. a fabric input end for feeding fabrics in juxtaposed face-toface relation in pre-selected relative positions with respect to each other; c. a fabric output end; d. conveyor means for carrying the fabrics from said input end to said output end while in said pre-selected relative positions; e. means for preliminarily tacking at least a first fabric to said base fabric with needle means adapted to penetrate the fabric layers and cause certain of the fibers of at least a first fabric to penetrate at least a second fabric and intermingle with fibers thereof to secure the fabrics in faceto-face relation sufficiently to maintain their relative positions in preparation for further tacking; f. means for activating said fabric conveyor means to convey said preliminarily tacked fabrics toward the output end of the apparatus for said further tacking; and g. means positioned at the output end for further tacking said preliminarily tacked fabrics including needle means adapted to additionally penetrate said preliminarily tacked fabrics, said needle means being configured to cause certain of the fibers of at least a first fabric to penetrate a second fabric and intermingle with fibers thereof, said preliminary tacking thereby partially securing said fabrics together while in said pre-selected relative positions, and said further tacking additionally securing said fabrics in said relative positions for final needling whereby said fabrics are relatively permanently secured together.
 2. The apparatus according to claim 1 further comprising a take-up section including a take-up roll for winding the finally tacked fabrics therearound into rolls of predetermined sizes.
 2. a needle bar connected to said frame and having at least one row of spaced apart needles extending through a tacking zone;
 2. a needle bar connected to said frame positioned above said apron slats and connected for upward and downward movement with respect to said frame;
 2. a pulley wheel connected to the shaft of said motor and adapted to rotate a second shaft by a belt and pulley wheel connection;
 3. a fabric support means;
 3. at least one row of needles connected to said needle bar and extending within a pre-tacking zone, said rows being spaced to correspond to said spaces between said apron slats;
 3. an eccentric drive connected to said second shaft for actuating an oscillating arm;
 3. The apparatus according to claim 2 wherein said means for preliminarily tacking said fabrics includes at least one needle bar having a plurality of needle means extending within a tacking zone of the preliminary tacker.
 4. The apparatus according to claim 3 wherein said means for finally tacking said fabrics includes at least one needle bar having a plurality of needle means extending within a final tacking zone of the final tacker.
 4. a stripper plate connected to said needle bar and positioned therebelow, said stripper plate being resiliently biased away from said needle bar; and
 4. means to convert the oscillations of said oscillating arm into rotational oscillations of a rotatably mounted shaft;
 4. a needle stripper below said needle bar and connected thereto and having apertures through which said needles are positioned, said stripper plate being connected to and resiliently biased downwardly away from said needle bar; and
 5. means including an overriding clutch means for converting rotational oscillations of said shaft into intermittent uni-directional rotations; and
 5. a preliminary-tacker drive motor operatively connected to move said preliminary-tacker along said frame by a modified Geneva Drive System including rotating indexing wheels which rotate through said system and include cam followers which intermittently enter and exit correspondingly configured track means mounted on said apron slats thereby causing said preliminary-tacker to move with intermittent motion rearwardly toward the output end of said apron when said modified Geneva Drive System is operated by said motor while said needles intermittently penetrate the fabric layers and cause certain of the fibers of a first fabric to penetrate at least a second fabric and intermingle with fibers thereof; f. a final tacking device at the output end of said apron for relatively finally tacking said pre-tacked fabrics including:
 5. means to operatively connect said apron drive system to said final tacker including: an eccentric drive means connected to said apron drive variable speed motor; a link arm connected to said eccentric drive in a manner which causes it to oscillate in a vertical direction; connecting means for transmitting said oscillating vertical motion from said link arm to said final tacker frame thereby causing said needle bar to oscillate and said barbed needles to repeatedly penetrate at least two layers of said pre-tacked fabrics at a frequency which is predetermined by the selected speed of said motor as they are fed into said final tacker by the apron, said needles causing fibers of at least a first fabric layer to penetrate and intermingle with fibers of a second fabric layer; g. switching means operatively connected to activate said final tacker and said apron drive system while deactivating said preliminary-tacker drive system when the preliminary-tacker reaches a predetermined position at the forward end of the pre-tacking section of said apparatus such that said preliminary-tacker is carried rearwardly of said apparatus by said apron while feeding pre-tacked fabrics into the tacking zone of said final tacker; h. switching means operatively connEcted for deactivating said apron drive system and said final tacker while activating said pre-tacker Geneva Drive System when said pre-tacker reaches a rearward predetermined position relative to said apparatus frame, said switching means activating said modified Geneva Drive System to drive said pre-tacker in a forward direction to the input end of said apron in intermittent steps while pausing between successive advances; i. switching means operatively connected to said preliminary-tacker drive means to activate air cylinders to actuate said linkages connected thereto cause said needle bar to move intermittently downwardly and upwardly toward and away from said apron thereby resulting in penetration by said needles through at least two layers of said fabrics while on said apron in the preliminary-tacking zone, each complete cycle of said needle movement being operatively phased to correspond to each pause period of said pre-tacker while moving forwardly over said apron; and j. a take-up means for winding said finally tacked fabrics on a roll into rolls of predetermined sizes.
 5. The apparatus according to claim 4 wherein the number of penetrations of said final tacker needle means is greater in number than the penetrations of said pre-tacker needle means.
 6. The apparatus according to claim 5 wherein said needle means in said pre-tacker and said needle means in said final tacker comprise barbed needles having barbs which face in at least one direction.
 6. a sprocket wheel connected to said intermittently rotating shaft, said sprocket being drivingly engaged with said link chain of said apron for moving said apron rearwardly toward the output end of said apparatus in intermittend unidirectional motion; e. a pre-tacking device including:
 7. The apparatus according to claim 6 wherein said barbed needles have thereon barbs facing in more than one direction.
 8. The apparatus according to claim 6 wherein said means for carrying said fabric layers from the input end toward the output end of said apparatus comprises an endless apron including wood slats laterally positioned across said frame with means for connecting said slats in spaced apart relation, said apron being adapted for movement relative to said frame and further having drive means operatively connected to drive said apron rearwardly toward the output end of said apparatus over the upper portion of said frame such that the fabric layers may be positioned thereon while in face-to-face relation for preliminary tacking, and carried rearwardly toward the output end of said apparatus for fEeding said pre-tacked fabrics into a final tacker for final tacking.
 9. The apparatus according to claim 8 further comprising: a preliminary-tacking device having a needle bar supporting at least one row of barbed tacking needles; a stripper plate supported below, and connected to said needle bar and biased downwardly away therefrom by resilient means; a modified Geneva Drive System operatively connecting a motor to said preliminary-tacking device adapting it to move forwardly toward the input end of said apron by intermittent steps, with said needle bar operatively connected by linkages to air cylinder means to move said needle bar upwardly and downwardly at least once corresponding to each pause period of said preliminary-tacker, said needle bar movement causing said tacking needles to penetrate at least two layers of fabrics a full cycle corresponding to each pause period of said pre-tacking device during its intermittent forward motion, and said resiliently biased stripper plate securing said fabrics against said apron by compressive resilient action while following said needle bar for at least a portion of its upward and downward cycle.
 10. The apparatus according to claim 9 wherein said pre-tacking device includes a needle bar having four rows of laterally positioned vertical barbed needles, said rows being spaced apart to correspond to spaces between said apron slats such that when said pre-tacking needles move downwardly and upwardly during pre-tacking said needles are positioned between said apron slats.
 11. The apparatus according to claim 10 further comprising a final tacking device including: a. a fabric support means; b. a tacking zone; c. a needle bar extended within said tacking zone with at least one row of tacking needles laterally positioned across said needle bar, said needle bar being operatively driven by at least a portion of said apron drive means so as to reciprocate vertically, thereby imparting reciprocal motion to said needles causing them to repeatedly penetrate at least two of said pre-tacked fabric layers as they are carried through the final tacking zone by said apron, said repeated penetrations of said needles causing certain of the fibers of at least one fabric layer to penetrate a second fabric layer such that the fabrics are secured in face-to-face relation with each other.
 12. The apparatus according to claim 11 wherein said needle bar of said preliminary-tacking device is comprised of several sections affixed in end to end spaced adjacent relation to the preliminary-tacker frame thereby facilitating simplified maintenance of said needle bar and said needles by permitting removal of sections requiring repairs and the like without affecting remaining sections.
 13. The apparatus according to claim 12 wherein said final tacker needle bar is comprised of several sections affixed in end to end spaced adjacent relation to the frame of said final tacker thereby facilitating simplified maintenance of said needle bar and said needles by permitting removal of sections requiring repairs and the like without affecting remaining sections.
 14. An apparatus for preliminarily securing a first fibrous fabric portion to a base fibrous fabric in juxtaposed face-to-face relation in preparation for a final needling in which the fabrics are relatively finally secured together which comprises: a. a frame; b. a fabric input end for feeding fabrics in juxtaposed face-to-face relation in pre-selected relative positions with respect to each other; c. a fabric output end; d. an endless apron for carrying layers of said fabrics from the input end of the apparatus toward the output end while in said pre-selected relative positions, said apron including a series of wood slats positioned laterally across said frame and connected in spaced apart relation by at least one link chain to form an endless loop, said apron having means including rollers for moving it from one end to the other along said frame, said aproN further being driven by a drive means including:
 15. The apparatus according to claim 14 wherein said needle bar of said preliminary-tacker includes four rows of needles laterally positioned over said apron.
 16. The apparatus according to claim 15 wherein said needle bar includes two rows of needles laterally positioned across said final tacking section of said apparatus.
 17. The apparatus according to claim 16 wherein said fabric take-up means comprises: a. a driven take-up roll for winding said tacked fabrics therearound; b. a driving take-up roll nipped against said driven take-up roll; c. a shaft on which said driving take-up roll is mounted, said shaft being driven by at least one sprocket wheel drivingly connected by a link chain to a sprocket wheel on the apron drive shaft; d. an air cylinder connected to the apparatus frame having a piston connected to a piston rod which is biased by a substantially constant pressure source in said cylinder to apply a force against the shaft of said driven take-up roll in a manner which maintains a substantially constant nip between said driven take-up roll and said driving take-up roll; and e. an idler means adapted to maintain a predetermined tension in said take-up roll driving link chain, said takeup means thereby winding said fabrics at a rate substantially equal to the rate of output of said final tacker due to the common driving connection between the take-up drive means and said apron drive means.
 18. The apparatus according to claim 17 further comprising a movable feed roll rotatably mounted on said frame and positioned against said movable apron at the input end thereof and creating a nip with said movable apron when moving, said nip facilitating feeding of the fabrics onto said input end of said apron into the preliminary-tacking sectin of said apparatus.
 19. A tacking apparatus for preliminarily securing at least a first fabric portion to a base fabric in juxtaposed face-to-face relation in preparation for a final needling operation in which the fabrics are relatively finally secured together, which comprises: a. a frame; b. a fabric input end for feeding fabrics in juxtaposed face-to-face relation in pre-selected relative positions with respect to each other; c. a fabric output end; d. conveyor means for carrying the fabrics from said input end to said output end while in said preselected relative positions; e. means movably mounted with respect to said frame for movement between said output end and said input end for preliminarily tacking at least one fabric layer to said base fabric with needle means adapted to intermittently penetrate the fabric layers and cause certain of the fibers of a first fabric layer to penetrate a second fabric layer and intermingle with fibers thereof to secure the fabrics in face-to-face relation sufficiently to maintain their relative positions in preparation for further Tacking; f. means for moving said preliminary tacking means from the output end to the input end while said fabric conveyor means is stationary and said preliminary tacking means preliminarily tacks at least two layers of fabrics together in face-to-face relation; g. means for deactivating said preliminary tacking means when it arrives at a predetermined position near the input end of the apparatus after preliminarily tacking the fabrics; h. means for activating said fabric conveyor means to convey said preliminarily tacked fabrics toward the output end of the apparatus for further tacking thereof; and i. a final tacking means stationarily positioned with respect to said frame at the output end portion for further tacking said preliminarily tacked fabrics including needle means adapted to additionally penetrate said preliminarily tacked fabrics, said needle means being configured to cause at least certain of the fibers of a first fabric layer to penetrate a second fabric layer and intermingle with the fibers thereof, said movable preliminary tacking means thereby partially securing said fabrics together according to said pre-selected relative positions, and said final tacking means additionally securing said fabrics for final needling whereby said fabrics are relatively permanently secured together. 